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The Maninka of United States

The Maninka of United States, numbering approximately 5,700 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Mande diaspora people of West African Maninka origin, descended from communities linked to the historic Mali Empire who maintain ties to the broader Manding cultural and linguistic tradition. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Western Maninkakan is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Maninka

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: United States
People Cluster: Malinke
Primary Language(s): Western Maninkakan (mlq)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 5,700
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG047665
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Pray for the Maninka of United States

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

80%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Western Maninkakan
Language Family: Mande

100%
%
Maninkakan, Western Speakers

Media Resources in Western Maninkakan:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Western Maninkakan:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Western Maninkakan bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Maninka are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Maninka:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Maninka of United States

And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many."
readMark 14:23-24

Pray for those who may have heard the gospel but have not yet submitted their lives to Christ, that they will finally see the sacrifice which He made for them and surrender their lives to Him.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
readIsaiah 40:8

Pray that everyone has access to God's Word and that those who hear the good news will turn from their sins and put their faith in Jesus the Messiah.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
read1 Peter 2:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will embrace their identity as God's chosen people, royal priests, and holy nation, living out their faith with purity and devotion.

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.
read3 John 1:2

Ask God to grant protection and good health — both physical and spiritual — to those He sends cross-culturally to share the gospel.

Maninka, Western Across Countries (ROP3 - 106266) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
ManinkaPG013557ManinkaMali777,000Engaged yet UnreachedWestern ManinkakanSunni Islam
ManinkaPG014251ManinkaSenegal681,000Engaged yet UnreachedWestern ManinkakanFolk Islam
ManinkaPG012420ManinkaBurkina Faso195,000Engaged yet UnreachedWestern ManinkakanFolk Islam
ManinkaPG047665ManinkaUnited States5,700Engaged yet UnreachedWestern ManinkakanSunni Islam

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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